Chapter Twenty Two: The Deception

Haru took another steadying breath before looking up at Baron, and smiling nervously. "Okay, good news is that Yuki's on her way to the ballroom right now, if she isn't there already. Bad news is that the Cat King saw me, and I apparently made a big impression on him. Any ideas on where to go from here?"

Baron's mouth flapped open and shut for a while, his grass-green eyes growing wider and wider with something she couldn't quite put a name to. "Just… out of curiosity, Haru, what happened to your glasses?"

That brought the brunette's attention back sharply, and her hand dove into the pocket of her dress in order to put the corrective lenses back on their perch.

But then Baron's hand stopped hers, and he gently pressed her hand down so that he could look deep into her perfect eyes again. A slightly mischievous smirk slowly crossed his lips as the orange and cream cat figured out the truth. "You never needed them, did you?"

Haru blushed crimson, and looked down at her feet in shame. "I need them, all right. Just… not to aid my sight."

The smirk disappeared, and the feline lord withdrew his hand so that she could put the thick glasses back on. "I see. Well, did anyone else see you?"

Haru nodded, feeling confident enough to look up at her employer, now that she had her feeble protection back. Idly, she wondered if he realized that his other hand was still on her waist. "A few servants, and Yuki. I know I look more impressive without the glasses, and I thought Yuki would take me more seriously when I wasn't wearing them. I thought that the glasses enough would be enough to keep our conspiracy a secret, but with that king, I'm not so sure. No offense, but he gives me the creeps."

Baron sighed, pulling her back a bit so he could take a careful note of her dress. "One more or less has to get used to it, but I have a feeling that Phoebus won't be staying in power much longer. I think you're right; the glasses alone won't be enough. Hold still." Firmly, he placed his hands on her shoulders, and whispered a few choice words as he focused his concentration on the soft satin.

Looking down, Haru bit back a gasp as her dress became several shades lighter in the dark corridor. After the dress almost appeared to be white in the darkness, Baron took his hands off of her, and looked at her up and down again as the brunette's cheeks burned slightly.

"Are you terribly attached to that hairstyle?" he asked gently. Haru shook her head, pulling out the ribbon before working the braids loose with her long slim fingers.

After her hair was completely down, the slim human held the yellow ribbon uncertainly. "Maybe I could pull it back again," she murmured, but Baron shook his head with a smile.

"It looks wonderful just like that," the tawny lord softly protested before she could attempt the usual hairstyle. "You really should give some thought to leaving your hair down, this style suits you much better than the ponytail."

Her cheeks burned again as she lowered her hands, and tucked the spare ribbon into the pocket. Her escort held his arm out to her again.

"Shall we?" he asked. "Toto's probably frantic by now."

Haru nodded, and placed her hand on his arm once more.

ooOoo

"Where have you two been?" Toto hissed as Baron ran out of the secret entrance, sweeping Haru effortlessly into his arms as he jumped onto his friend's back and grabbed a handful of feathers in one smooth motion.

"We were interrupted," Baron said evasively as the dark crow took to the sky once more, in order to circle the forest and approach the castle again to throw off any suspicions, if any even came.

Haru and Baron took the precious moments in the air to catch their breath once more, since they had needed to run quite hard through the dusty corridor.

Below them, the castle waited.

ooOoo

"I swear, Lune! The girl was perfect!" the Cat King insisted to his son, who was nodding formally at the most current girl to approach the throne to the accompaniment of fine musical instruments.

"If she's so perfect, then how come you didn't even catch her name? Besides, I'd be more comfortable with a feline bride," the young prince said tiredly, nodding formally at the striped maiden before she bowed away from the throne, her eyes turning dark and angry.

"She'll become one after enough time in the kingdom," the longhair defended, resuming his watch over the ballroom, still searching for that golden girl. Under ordinary circumstances, humans stuck out like sore thumbs at any royal function within the kingdom, but the only human girl that the king had managed to find was the red-haired noblewoman that Prince Edward of Ulam was escorting, but that one looked nothing like the angel the Cat King had seen in the hallway.

He looked around the room again, suppressing a growl. Just where was she, anyway? She had even mentioned an escort, so she had to be around the castle somewhere…

"I'm not interested in some human stranger, Father," Lune said tiredly, his own eyes faded, and searching.

"But she said she's met you twice!" his father protested. "Surely you'd remember a human girl with beautiful brown eyes?!"

His son gave a soft gasp, and stood up from his place next to the royal throne. His mismatched eyes of fire and ice, so much smaller than those of his father's, were filled with a stunned admiration as he slowly walked past the long line of feminine felines that had been trying to ensnare him.

At first, the Cat King had thought that the prince had caught sight of the human girl, but strangely enough, Lune wasn't going anywhere near a human. Instead, his target was a lovely white cat that had shyly moved one of the curtains aside so that she could enter the glimmering ball room, swirling with dancers.

The music faltered and the dancing stopped cold as the crown prince, without hesitation, bowed low before the stunning white cat and kissed her paw tenderly. She blushed prettily, and words seemed to stick in her throat. Prince Lune looked up into her china blue eyes, and smiled lovingly.

The king saw his son's lips move, and could only assume that he had asked the girl for a dance, since she had nodded shyly and followed his gentle lead into the center of the dance floor. The prince signaled for a soft waltz, a wish that was immediately granted by the wise musicians. Expertly, he began dancing with the feline of his choice, lost in a world of his own, never taking his eyes off of his partner as she lovingly gazed back at him.

"My my. Looks like the prince has found someone to his liking."

The Cat King grumpily turned to his left, where the Baron von Gikkingen was casually watching the dancing from the sidelines. The monarch growled in irritation. "He wasn't supposed to pick yet. He was supposed to wait until midnight."

The tawny lord chuckled a bit, and turned to face the feline monarch. As he turned, a human girl clinging to the lord's arm came into the Cat King's view. His large mismatched eyes automatically went to her, but alas, it wasn't the beauty he had spoken to earlier. Her dress was a light cream instead of lemon yellow, and she was far too homely, with those ridiculous glasses. Even her smile was too grim.

"I'm surprised that you're indignant about his haste. As I recall, the ball was your idea," Baron gently reminded the feline monarch.

"It was, but… I just had my heart set on a different daughter-in-law is all." Suddenly, the Cat King was struck with a brilliant idea. "Say, Baron, you know the Ulam nobility pretty well, don't you?"

"Fairly well, but why do you ask," the green-eyed feline said curiously.

"Well, there was a human girl running around the castle earlier, but no one seems to know her. Maybe you do?"

Baron shrugged casually. "Perhaps if you could describe her? What's her name?"

The Cat King ignored that last question. "Well, she's about this tall," he gestured to a level equal to his lower chest. "Long pretty brown hair, fair skin, very fair face, and the biggest, most beautiful pair of brown eyes you'd ever seen. She also had a queenly way of holding herself, and a very pretty smile. There could be no possible doubt that the girl is of royal descent. She was wearing a yellow gown, if that helps."

The baron hummed a bit, holding his chin with one hand. "Well, the Duchess of Thilash matches that description, as well as the Countess of Yulj, and all five of Prince Edward's sisters. Did you catch her name? How old was she?"

"I don't know, babe," the king said helplessly, flailing his arms around angrily. "All I know is that she's gorgeous and courteous!"

"So is nearly every girl that you've come in contact with tonight," Baron reminded the monarch, smiling a strange smile. "Besides, if she came for the ball, she should be showing up soon enough." Without warning, he pressed a hand to his forehead. "How rude of me. This is Haru Yoshioka, Your Majesty."

The Cat King barely spared a second glance at the wisp at Baron's side. "Charmed. Hey, wait a second. You brought your nanny?!"

The orange and cream feline shrugged and smiled again, his arm still wrapped in his companion's. "Why not? You did order me to bring an eligible lady, didn't you?"

"I-well," the king tried to say, but then just gave up. "Yeah, whatever." He gave a wave of the paw to declare the two dismissed. Baron bowed as his nanny did a slightly clumsy curtsy, and withdrew from the throne.

ooOoo

"There, see? That wasn't so bad," Baron said consolingly to the slim brunette as her arm started shaking slightly against his.

"Obviously of royal descent?" she almost hissed between her teeth. "Since when do you have to be a noble to be nice-looking and well-mannered?" the human girl muttered furiously.

Baron chuckled again, walking the human around the edges of the ball room, so that the dance floor was as far away as possible. "Try not to take it personally, Haru. At least he didn't recognize you."

A small smile managed to work its way back onto his nanny's lips, and a soft laugh escaped her throat. "There's that much, I guess. Well, besides dancing, what do you do at a royal ball?" the brunette asked curiously.

Baron opened his mouth to answer her, but then became interrupted.

"Surely this is but a joke," a low voice hissed to Baron's side.

Haru looked around her escort to see the speaker, and grimaced slightly.

A gorgeous red feline, clothed in the finest black satin, was glaring at the cream-clad human like she wished to murder the girl. "You brought a servant as a guest to the palace?!" she demanded of Baron, who glared right back at her, his own eyes filled with loathing.

Pointedly, he released Haru's arm so that he could wrap his own around her waist. Slowly, he drew her even closer than she had already been, as the poor brunette's heart began to pound loudly in her ears, issuing a warning that the girl couldn't quite interpret.

"What part of 'stay out of my affairs' did you not understand, Countess?" the tawny noble asked coldly as a blush rose on Haru's cheeks.

'Has Baron's arms always been this warm?'